Welcome!

Minnesota Buddhist Vihara is a Theravada Buddhist temple located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded in 2004 by Venerable Witiyala Seewalie Nayaka Thera to fulfill the need of a spiritual place in the state of Minnesota. The Vihara started offering its services at Thien An Buddhist temple sharing their space for more than two years. Thanks to them, it was able to develop and grow as a healthy community. In 2006, the current premise was acquired and had an official opening on June 24, 2006. All are welcome to come and see “ehipassiko” as Buddha has guided all dhamma seekers.

Minnesota Buddhist Vihara is registered as a 501(c) (3) not for profit corporation in the state of Minnesota. All monetary donations are considered tax deductible.

History of Our Temple

2004

It was officially registered as a non-profit religious organization in the state of Minnesota. Residing at Thien An Buddhist temple, Venerable Seewalie conducted meditation classes and study group. Bhante Kirti was invited to serve in Dhamma school for kids.

The community members started to discuss about having a place for all religious and spiritual operations.

2006

After two years of searching a suitable location, it was found in the heart of Minneapolis city. The temple is indeed situated at a suitable locality “patirupa-desa vaso ca” giving a quick access to all dhamma enthusiasts from all directions to come and join the activities.

On June 24, 2006, our temple had an opening ceremony. Many Sangha members assembled for this special occasion.

2011

After years of service from our temple to the community in Minnesota and the surrounding states, Venerable Seewalie received a recognition from Malwatta Chapter in Sri Lanka and appointed him as the Deputy Chief Sangha Nayaka of North America on June 17, 2011.

His Excellency Mahinda Rajapakse, a president of Sri Lanka, invited Venerable to honor his position.

Venerable_Seewalie_receiving_honorary_title_from_Maha_Nayaka_Thera_of_Malwatta_Chapter,_Kandy,_Sri_Lanka

2014

On March 30, 2014, we held a blessing ceremony to celebrated 10th anniversary of our temple. It was a milestone in the history of our temple looking back all the activities that were conducted during that period.

It was a day to express sincere thanks and appreciation to all members, supporters and well-wishers for their loyal support.

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2019

The 15th anniversary was another milestone celebrated. It was an event of reflection that how far this temple has grown. By this time, temple has completed 10 years of monthly visit to South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls and 5 years of monthly visit to Lino Lakes Correctional Facility to provide spiritual guidance for inmates as an outreach program.

2020

On December 13, 2020, Venerable Seewalie donated a monastic ward at District Ayurveda Hospital in Southern Sri Lanka in memory of his late preceptor Venerable Narandeniye Pragnarama on his 50th Birthday.

Pause and Take a Deep Breath !

Learning meditation is the best thing one can achieve in the pursuit of true peace and happiness. It is a practice of cultivating self-awareness and finding the true nature. On this journey of mindfulness, one will experience calmness of the mind, reduction of stress and focus on the essential aspects of life. Moreover, it provides a tool to have a positive approach in life where the cultivation of love and compassion is emphasized more than sensual pleasure and delight in material gains.

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Kathina sponsors of our temple

#	Family	Year	Status
1	Herath, Susantha / Lakmini and family	2005	Completed
2	Perera, Upul / Kamani and family	2006	Completed
3	Atukorala, Jayantha / Viranga and family	2007	Completed
4	Sonnadara, Cyril / Indumathy and family	2008	Completed
5	Hemamala Samaratunga and family	2009	Completed
6	Perera, Mithula / Udayanthi and family	2010	Completed
7	Bunnell, Jim / Sandamalie and family	2011	Completed
8	Samaratunga, Priyantha / Piyumi and family	2012	Completed
9	Devindi Lalani and family	2013	Completed
10	Ranasinghe, Shamil / Varuni and family	2014	Completed
11	Abeyratne, Athula / Priyangani and family	2015	Completed
12	Edmund, Tim / Saroja and family	2016	Completed
13	Ranasinghe, Senarath / Shirani and family	2017	Completed
14	Abeykoon, Thusith / Jayanadini and family	2018	Completed
15	Epps, Aaron / Samanthie and family	2019	Completed
16	Gunasiri Silva / Anoma Liyanapathiranage and family	2020	Completed
17	Susith / Gihanthi and family	2021	Completed
18	Tepul / Sumudu and family	2022	Completed
19	Shanaka / Diana De Soysa and family	2023	Completed

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